Automatic door-operating device



1,536,723 A. csusnm AUTOMATIC DOOR OPERATING DEVICE Filed may 21 1923 WITNESS:

M M y NW. 25,v 11924 wmm v A. GUIDRY AUTOMATIC DOOR OPERATING DEVICE Filed may 21, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY WITNESS:

31,516,723 A. GUIDRY AUTOMATIC DOOR OPERATING DEVICE Filed May 21, 1923 3 Shawna-Sheet 3 HHI Wig/a a LN g WITNESS:

Patented Nov. 25, 1924.

fl FFETCE Anrnnn Gurne or .GOMEOlR-T, TEXAS.

Annemarie noon-crema ns. navicn.

Application filed May 21,;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED .GUIDRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Comfort, in the county of Kendall and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Door-Operating Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention contemplates the provision of an automatic door operating mechanism,

' primarily 'intended for use with garages, barns or :the llke, the mechanism being actuated by theweightof the vehicle. as the latterapproaches the door opening, whereupon the doors are automatically opened and subsequently, closed when the mechanism is relieved of the weight of the vehicle.

The nature and advantages of the invention will be better understood when the following detailed description is read in connection' with the accompanying drawings, the invention residing in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as claimed.

In the drawings forming part of this application, like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a view of the mechanism showing the arrangement of parts with the door of the garage closed.

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the arrangement of parts with the doors opened.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 38 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 47-42 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, A in dicates a garage, barn or the like equipped with sliding doors B, the latter being hung from suitable tracks G in the usual well known manner, the mechanism for automatically opening and closing these doors essentially embodies horizontally disposed rack bars which slide through suitable frame like guides 11 mounted on posts 12. There is one of these bars 10 for each door, and the adjacent ends of these bars are connected with the respective doors so that the doors are opened and closed simultaneously as the rack bars are reciprocated in a manner to be presently described. It will be noted that the posts 12 are arranged a proper distance in advance of the garage and. also beyond 1.92s. Sclialhlo. 640,493.

.the sides thereof, the doors passing between the garage and said posts when they are moved to an open position. The mechanism for each door is exactly the same and illustrated in the drawings. For instance each rack bar 10 meshes with a large gear 13 which is also journalled upon the frame like guide member 11, and the .diameter of this .gear is such that it completely opens the door upon one revolution of the gear. Gar

ried by the gear 13 is a small pinion 1a, the

latter meshing with a vertically disposed rack bar 15, which operates to rotate the gear 13 for the purpose specified. The rack bars 15 for the respective doors have their lower extremities associated witha floating shaft 16, the latter being suspended by coiled springs 17 which in turn are connected with the frame like members 11. There are preferably two of such springs connected with each frame member, and the said springs function to hold the shaft 16 elevated an appreciable distance above the ground. The shaft 16 is lowered against the tension of these springs 17 by the weight of the vehicle, and as the shaft is depressed, it passes between suitable guides 18. That portion of the shaft which pass between these guides is equipped with rollers 19 to minimize friction.

This shaft 16 is arranged between and connected with a pair of normally inclined platforms 20 and 21 respectively, each of which is hingedly connected as at 22 to a beam 23 embedded in the ground. The platforms are connected with the shaft 16 by means of bars 24 which project from one end of the platform and pass over rollers 25 carried by the shaft. These bars 2 1 are crossed, so that both platforms 20 and 21 are simultaneously depressed together with the shaft 16 when the vehicle passes over either of the platforms. It is of course, to be understood that the platform 20 is arranged exteriorly of the garage, while the platform 21 is arranged interiorly thereof. By this arrangement the doors are automatically opened when the vehicle approaches the garage, or as the vehicle moves in the direction of the door when leaving the garage. However, after the vehicle has passed over the platforms, both of which assume a substantially horizontal position, as the vehicle passes through the door opening, the springs 17 which have been tensioned in cident to the depression of the shaft 16 function to automatically close the doors. The garage, barn or the like must of necessity be equipped with an auxiliary door, by means of which access may be had to the garage independently of the main doors inasmuch as the latter cannot be actuated by the weight of a man, the springs 17 being very strong to automatically close the doors and hold the platforms and other component parts of the mechanism normally in the position shown in Figure 1.

While it is believed that from the foregoing description, the nature and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent, I desire to have it understood that I do not limit myself to what is herein shown and described and that such changes may be re sorted to when desired as fall within the scope of what is claimed.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a pair of sliding doors, of rack bars secured to said doors and mounted for sliding movements toward and away from each other, vehicle actuated means for simultaneously moving said bars in directions to automatically open the doors, said means including vertically disposed rack bars, gears rotated by the latter mentioned rack bars and meshing with the first mentioned rack bars to actuate the latter, yieldable means for normally holding the vertical bars elevated and the doors closed, a shaft connecting said vertical rack bars, and platforms arranged at opposite sides of the shaft and connected therewith to move-the latter and the vertical rack bars downwardly under the weight of the vehicle incidentally to the opening of said doors as described.

2. The combination with a pair of sliding doors, of rack bars secured to said doors and mounted for sliding movement toward and away from each other, vertically disposed rack bars, gears adapted to be rotated by the last mentioned rack bars, and meshing with the first mentioned. rack bars to actuate the latter, and vehicle actuated means for simultaneously operating the vertical rack bars to automatically open the doors, said means including a depressible platform, springs suspended from said vertical rack bars, and a floating shaft supported by said springs and connected with said platforms, whereby the vertical bars are lowered when the platform is depressed to automatically open the doors.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ALFRED GUIDRY. 

